Iberdrola and the Basque Government plan to invest €59 million in the Labraza wind farm, the first wind energy project to be developed in the Basque Country in nearly 20 years, the regional authorities said on Monday.
The 40-megawatt (MW) project, located in the municipality of Oion in Álava, will feature eight Siemens Gamesa SG 5.0-145 turbines. Once operational, it will raise the region’s installed wind capacity by 26%, from 153MW to 193MW.
“For the first time in 20 years, the Basque Country will have a new wind farm that will generate green energy for our homes and industries,” said Mikel Jauregi, the Basque Minister of Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability. “We also want a social model that directly benefits… the residents of the towns in which the renewable projects are developed.”
The Labraza project is being led by Aixeindar, a joint venture between Iberdrola and the Basque energy agency Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE). A building permit application has already been submitted, with construction expected to begin in the final quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals. The wind farm is scheduled to be commissioned one year later.
Annual generation is forecast at nearly 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh), enough to power 30,000 households and prevent the emission of 16,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. No new grid infrastructure will be required, as the project will connect through existing lines used by wind farms in nearby Navarra.
Kerman Gabiola, managing director of Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa in Spain, described the development as “a very important project” for the region. “This is the first wind farm to be built in the Basque Country in the last two decades, which is an important step forward in the reactivation of wind energy in the region,” he said.
Construction of the wind farm is expected to create up to 90 jobs, primarily for local workers.
